Miami Hurricanes head coach Jim Larranaga coaches during the first half of a game against the Duke Blue Devils at the BankUnited Center. / Robert Mayer, USA TODAY Sports

by Chris Chase, USA TODAY Sports

by Chris Chase, USA TODAY Sports

Miami is ranked No. 2 in the country, hasn't lost a game since Christmas Day and is 13-0 in the ACC, three games clear of second-place Duke. According to Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga, the man who may be most responsible for Miami's sensational season is a current NBA star who played at a rival ACC school one decade ago.

Larranaga recently told a story about how Miami Heat star, and former Georgia Tech player, Chris Bosh helped motivate the team prior to Larranaga's first season in Coral Gables. The coach reminisced about a summer day in 2011 when Bosh played pick-up with the 'Canes. After the game, Larranaga asked the All-Star for his assessment. Bosh said Miami's players weren't running the floor or working hard.

The story continued:

"I asked [Bosh] if he would mind sharing that with the team. This was right after [the Heat] had lost in the world championship to Dallas. One day with the whole team in the weight room lifting, I asked him to say a few words. He started out with an emotional message. It was the best five-minute talk I've ever heard. He talked about how disappointed he was that he didn't play better in Game 6 and how disappointed he was that they didn't win the world championship and he didn't want to live with that kind of regret and that he was killing himself during that offseason so that the Miami Heat could win the world championship.

"He said, 'You guys don't work hard enough. You don't deserve the success you'd like to have. You can't compete at the highest level of college basketball with the effort that you're giving.' It was just music to my ears because that was the message we were trying to deliver. Coming from Chris Bosh, it meant a whole lot to the team."

Miami finished that season 9-7 in the ACC. Now, they're the first team since Duke's Final Four squad in 1999 to start the ACC season 13-0. Yeah, I'd say that's one good five-minute talk.

By telling the story, Larranaga is being modest and salesman-like at the same time. Associating a Miami Heat star with the Miami Hurricanes program is great for recruiting. And though Bosh's motivational speech surely helped matters, Larranaga himself is the architect of Miami's rise. As the excerpt above demonstrates, he gives pretty good speeches himself.